Kevin Sumlin and Herm Edwards will square off in their first Territorial Cup matchup Saturday. It won’t be the first time they’ve been on a football field together.
Sumlin, Arizona’s first-year coach, served as a coaching intern for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 years ago. The Bucs had an all-star staff led by Tony Dungy. It included future NFL head coaches Lovie Smith, Rod Marinelli and Edwards, who’s in his first season at Arizona State.
“It was a great experience,” Sumlin said Monday. “That’s where I first got to meet him.”
Sumlin was the receivers coach for Purdue at the time. He would get his first head-coaching job 10 years later at Houston.
Two years ago, while coaching at Texas A&M, Sumlin reconnected with Edwards. Sumlin invited Edwards, who was working as an NFL analyst for ESPN, to College Station to tour the facilities and address his team.
“I was delighted to do that,” Edwards said. “I did a lot of that when I was working for the Worldwide Leader (ESPN). It was a nice conversation.”
Sumlin said Edwards didn’t just talk about football “but about life. You guys have heard him speak. He’s energetic. He’s coached, he’s played at the highest level.
“He’s his own guy. He’s a tremendous leader. He does things the right way. Obviously, he’s doing a great job at Arizona State.”
The Sun Devils are 6-5. They controlled their fate in the Pac-12 South before losing by two points at Oregon on Saturday night.
The Wildcats are 5-6. They need to win to become bowl eligible.
“I think coach has done a really good job with those guys down there,” Edwards said. “They’re a very competitive football team. What happened last week is what happened; that doesn’t matter. This is a whole new slate.”
Arizona also lost in the Pacific Northwest, but in much more ignominious fashion: The UA got blown out by Washington State 69-28.
Sumlin didn’t dwell on that performance much during his weekly press briefing. He did note that the defense wasn’t the only problem, pointing out that Arizona’s four turnovers gave the highest-scoring team in the Pac-12 extra possessions and prime field position.
“You can’t do that,” Sumlin said. “We need to be better across the board than we were Saturday night.”
Injured cornerback Jace Whittaker could return to Arizona for a fifth season in 2019.
Whittaker back in ’19?
Although no final decision has been made, there’s a strong possibility that injured senior cornerback Jace Whittaker will return to Arizona for a fifth season.
Whittaker’s father, Jerry, believes that would be the best course of action for Jace, who has missed all but one game this season because of hamstring and elbow injuries.
“It’s an option for sure,” Jerry Whittaker told the Star in a phone interview Monday. “Personally, I think it’d be wise for him to use his redshirt and come back.”
Jerry Whittaker added that the ultimate decision is Jace’s to make.
Because he played in only one game, Jace Whittaker could use a redshirt and play a fifth season without having to deal with any NCAA red tape.
Whittaker, who has 24 career starts, is Arizona’s best cornerback when healthy. He missed the first two games this season because of a hamstring injury before hurting his left elbow on the first series against Southern Utah in Week 3.
Whittaker has dressed and warmed up for subsequent games but hasn’t been able to play. Jerry Whittaker said his son “can’t do a pushup” at this time, and Sumlin said Monday that he doesn’t expect Whittaker to return this season.
“We’re never gonna put a guy in harm’s way,” Sumlin said. “He wants to play, but with the strength in his arm right now, I just don’t see that happening this year.
“He does have another year. We just don’t feel good about putting him out there with one arm. He’s weak on one side. That could put him in an even more difficult situation.”
Jerry Whittaker said Jace has “the highest pain tolerance” and would play if he could. When he was 10 years old, Jace broke his arm when falling off his bike. He didn’t tell his parents for several hours.
“If he’s not playing, it’s because he’s hurt,” said Jerry Whittaker, a former pro baseball player.
Returning to Arizona isn’t Jace Whittaker’s only option. He could turn pro, although his training would be hampered if he isn’t fully healthy. He’s on track to graduate in December, meaning he could play for any other school next year as a grad transfer.
“I’m pretty sure he’s getting calls,” Jerry Whittaker said. “But Jace is a loyal kid. I’m pretty sure he wants to finish up at Arizona. He likes the new coaching staff.”
That feeling appears to be mutual.
“If the coaching staff thought otherwise,” Jerry Whittaker said, “I’d feel a certain kind of way.”
Jace Whittaker has not spoken to the media since training camp; injured players are off-limits for interviews. He has not told his father that he is participating in the senior-day ceremony Saturday and isn’t among the 12 players listed by the UA.
“Unless he gives me a call and says I’m walking,” Jerry Whittaker said, “that might be a sign (that he’s coming back).”
The 12 Wildcats who are slated to participate: defensive tackle Dereck Boles, receiver Shun Brown, receiver Tony Ellison, safety Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, tackle Layth Friekh, punter Jake Glatting, punter Dylan Klumph, defensive tackle Abraham Maiava, receiver Shawn Poindexter, kicker Josh Pollack, snapper Nick Reinhardt and defensive lineman Matt Thomas.
Extra points
- Sumlin on the Territorial Cup: “The game’s important. They’re all important. But rivalry games are a little bit different. … To ignore (that), to say ‘Well, this is just another game’ … we’re going to approach it the same, but deep down inside everybody knows.”
- Edwards on UA quarterback Khalil Tate: “He makes plays you can’t coach against, because you don’t see it on film until it happens. The unannounced play — that’s what you worry about. He’s really good at running and throwing on the run. … He can probably run faster than half of our defense. That’s a problem.”
- Sumlin said he will bring in ex-players to address the team this week but declined to say who’s on the guest list. Edwards said he also will have speakers talk to his team. They could include former UA linebacker Antonio Pierce, who’s now an assistant at ASU. “That might be an interesting conversation,” Edwards said.
- Sumlin compared Poindexter to former Texas A&M star Mike Evans. Both are tall receivers who had limited football backgrounds before college. Sumlin said scouts who have visited Arizona have expressed interest in Poindexter, who has eight touchdowns in his past four games.
- Sumlin said ASU receiver N’Keal Harry, whom he tried to recruit to A&M, is “a fabulous player” who has plus size and “great” body control. “He’s a grown man now and plays like it,” Sumlin said.
- Sumlin described ASU’s Manny Wilkins as a “very smart” quarterback who also can run and seldom turns the ball over. Sumlin called tailback Eno Benjamin, the Pac-12’s leading rusher, a “violent runner.”
- Sumlin said UA freshman tailback Darrius Smith “was back to form” after battling a “really bad” turf-toe injury for a chunk of the season. That particular injury is difficult for a player who relies on change of direction the way Smith does.
- Safety Scottie Young Jr.’s unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty against Washington State was the result of him decking a receiver who was not involved in the play, Sumlin said. Young will have to sit out the first half against ASU because of a targeting infraction that occurred later in the game.
- Arizona will have a midday practice on Thanksgiving, followed by a team meal. Players from Tucson or the Phoenix area are free to go home that evening before returning for team obligations Friday. The usual Friday schedule will be bumped up because Saturday’s kickoff is at 1:30 p.m.
